Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bloopity Bloop]

I just moved to HBC and was immediately greeted by two, HUGE new "friends".

I've never had roaches in the 3 years I've been in Korea so I'm a bit unsure as to how I'm supposed to deal with them. I think the two that were chilling under my fridge made it in because the landlord left my front door open prior to my moving in (it's located behind a gate); or at least that's what I HOPE happened.

One friend told me to sprinkle boric acid all around the entrances to my house, around the fridge, and under the sink. I also read that it'd be smart to caulk up any holes or gaps that might enable their entry into my apartment.

Unfortunately, the laundry machine is located in a small storage area that is full of gaps and the door that leads to the storage area isn't flush with the door frame. I dumped half a box of boric acid all around the storage area but is there anyway I can seal the gaps in a way that I can still open and close the door?

Any other roach-proofing tips?

Kind of regretting the decision to move to HBC already... Never in my 3 years in Korea have I seen a roach, let alone in my space, 'til now.

[Leon]

You can buy some kind of traps, they are usually black, and made of plastic. They have some posion inside, but it smells like food to the roaches. They feed it to their nest, and it helps kill the roaches and the eggs. I have roaches right now, I'm using that and a can of raid. I've been in my new place a week and the numbers are decreasing daily.

[Keeper]

Those traps work great for at least two months. You will see dead roaches which is a bit better than seeing them alive.

[s.tickbeat]

If you found just two roaches in your place, don't freak out yet. It means that there are definitely roaches in the neighborhood, and possibly in the building. Find out what species of roach they are. If they're large, roundish, and black, then they're probably the sewer-dwelling Oriental Cockroach. They will come into your place through drains and pipes. If they're brown, they're probably the much-worse-to-deal-with American or German standard cockroach, which means that the building is infested.

If you've found the black cockroaches, simply cover any holes in your apartment, keep your apartment swept and clean of food at all times, and kill any who enter (roaches send 'scouts' on 'missions' to search for food and living space; amazing animals) to prevent them from getting back to their nest. Spray poison around doors and windows, and also behind cupboards, the fridge, etc. If your apartment was empty before you moved in, those roaches are just individuals hanging out. The poison will prevent any newcomers, but there's probably not a nest in the apartment.

If you've got the brown roaches, you're kind of fucked. Make sure that you have NO FOOD in your home. Do not keep food, prepare food, or eat food in your home. Spray poison everywhere - pull up the linoleum and spray. Spray the apartment's perimeter. Every hole, every crack needs to be sealed (duct tape will work) and then sprayed. Spray behind cupboards, spray under them, spray inside them. Spray and tape window screens. If you have a problem, spraying behind your cabinets will cause a rain of roaches onto the counter below.

You will have to repeat the above process every day for about three or four weeks, and again one week later to make sure they're gone. Spray, tape, spray. You'll literally have to spray everywhere, and keep your apartment spotless, and eat out every meal, for three weeks.

There are roaches in my neighborhood, both brown and black, and one will make it inside sometimes. Make it difficult and dangerous for them to get in, and kill the *uckers that make it.

Also, if there are roaches in the neighborhood, there are also rats. Keep that in mind. Your days of leaving the dishes to tomorrow are probably over. Welcome to slum-dwelling in Korea~!

[Troglodyte]

It's not too hard to kill all the little critters in your apartment. Roach trap and the occasional bug bomb will do the trick. The problem is that if even one of your neighbors ignores the situation then HIS roaches will keep on thriving and eventually some of them will migrate to your place and pick up where the previous bunch left off. Being in a city doesn't help either because there are plenty of places outside for them to live (e.g. dumpsters).

Blocking entrance points, roach traps, the occasional bug bomb and general cleanliness are pretty much all that you can do.

[Bloopity Bloop]

First of all, thanks for the replies!

Fortunately, I paid a month early so I haven't moved all my stuff in yet. It's as empty apartment and I haven't seen any more roaches aside from the 2 that were under my fridge. I THINK they were black, and I had dumped them into the toilet to take a picture of them for ID purposes but when I'd come back with my phone (which I'd accidentally left charging at a restaurant), my landlord was in there (unannounced) and flushed 'em... :/

They were about the size of my big toe... and roundish... so I'm hoping they weren't actually brown.

I think the place is pretty good and well sealed up and the drains are all covered/have small slits. The only entry point I'm really worried about is that blasted laundry room door.

Do they sell expanding foam in Korea? I might seal off a lot off all the openings in there but they're too big to caulk.

[Redfish]

http://www.ehow.com/how_7693112_burn-sulfur-kill-roaches.html

This works better than bug bombs. It will kill 100% of everything living in your apartment behind the fridge, behind the cabinets, in the walls, etc. Really good for fleas and bedbugs too...

If your place is infested make sure you have a broom and a BIG dust pan to sweep the critters up.